Agree and disagree topics.

1) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People are never satisfied with what
they have; they always want something more or something different. Use specific reasons to
support your answer.
2) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People should read only those books
that are about real events, real people, and established facts. Use specific reasons and details to
support your opinion.
3) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is more important for students to
study history and literature than it is for them to study science and mathematics. Use specific
reasons and examples to support your opinion.
4) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? All students should be required to
study art and music in secondary school. Use specific reasons to support your answer.
5) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? There is nothing that young people
can teach older people. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.
6) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Reading fiction (such as novels and
short stories) is more enjoyable than watching movies. Use specific reasons and examples to
explain your position.
7) Some young children spend a great amount of their time practicing sports. Discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of this. Use specific reasons and examples to support your
answer.
8) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Only people who earn a lot of money
are successful. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
9) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A persons childhood years (the time
from birth to twelve years of age) are the most important years of a persons life. Use specific
reasons and examples to support your answer.
10) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Children should be required to help
with household tasks as soon as they are able to do so. Use specific reasons and examples to
support your answer.
11) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Playing a game is fun only when you
win. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
12) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? High schools should allow students
to study the courses that students want to study. Use specific reasons and examples to support
your opinion.
13) Decisions can be made quickly, or they can be made after careful thought. Do you agree or
disagree with the following statement? The decisions that people make quickly are always
wrong. Use reasons and specific examples to support your opinion.
14) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People behave differently when
they wear different clothes. Do you agree that different clothes influence the way people
behave? Use specific xamples to support your answer.
15) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the best teachers. Use
specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
16) Schools should ask students to evaluate their teachers. Do you agree or disagree? Use
specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
17) When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success. Do
you agree or disagree with the quotation above? Use specific reasons and examples to explain
your position.
18) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Universities should give the same
amount of money to their students sports activities as they give to their university libraries. Use
specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
19) It is better for children to grow up in the countryside than in a big city. Do you agree or
disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to develop your essay.
20) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People should sometimes do things
that they do not enjoy doing. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

PREFERENCE QUESTIONS
Compare & Contrast
1. Some people say that physical exercise should be a required part of every school day. Other
people believe that students should spend the whole school day on academic studies. Which
opinion do you agree with? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.
2. A university plans to develop a new research center in your country. Some people want a
center for business research. Other people want a center for research in agriculture (farming).
Which of these two kinds of research centers do you recommend for your country? Use
specific reasons in your recommendation.
3. Some high schools require all students to wear school uniforms. Other high schools permit
students to decide what to wear to school. Which of these two school policies do you think is
better? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
4. What do you consider to be the most important room in a house? Why is this room more
important to you than any other room? Use specific reasons and examples to support your
opinion.
5. Some items (such as clothes or furniture) can be made by hand or by machine. Which do
you prefer items made by hand or items made by machine? Use reasons and specific
examples to explain your choice.
6. A gift (such as a camera, a soccer ball, or an animal) can contribute to a childs
development. What gift would you give to help a child develop? Why? Use reasons and
specific examples to support your choice.
7. Some people choose friends who are different from themselves. Others choose friends who
are similar to themselves. Compare the advantages of having friends who are different from
you with the advantages of having friends who are similar to you. Which kind of friend do you
prefer for yourself? Why?
8. Some people enjoy change, and they look forward to new experiences. Others like their
lives to stay the same, and they do not change their usual habits. Compare these two
approaches to life. Which approach do you prefer? Explain why.
9. People learn in different ways. Some people learn by doing things; other people learn by
reading about things; others learn by listening to people talk about things. Which of these
methods of learning is best for you? Use specific examples to support your choice.
10. Some people prefer to plan activities for their free time very carefully. Others choose not
to make any plans at all for their free time. Compare the benefits of planning free-time
activities with the benefits of not making plans. Which do you prefer planning or not
planning for your leisure time? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your choice.
11. Some people think that the family is the most important influence on young adults. Other
people think that friends are the most important influence on young adults. Which view do
you agree with? Use examples to support your position.


IMAGINARY/IF QUE
Compare & Contrast
1. In your opinion, what is the most important characteristic (for example, honesty,
intelligence, a sense of humor) that a person can have to be successful in life? Use specific
reasons and examples from your experience to explain your answer. When you write your
answer, you are not limited to the examples listed in the question.
2. If you were asked to send one thing representing your country to an international
exhibition, what would you choose? Why? Use specific reasons and details to explain your
choice.
3. Your city has decided to build a statue or monument to honor a famous person in your
country. Who would you choose? Use reasons and specific examples to support your choice.
4. Describe a custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to
adopt. Explain your choice, using specific reasons and examples.
5. A foreign visitor has only one day to spend in your country. Where should this visitor go on
that day? Why? Use specific reasons and details to support your choice.
6. If you could go back to some time and place in the past, when and where would you go?
Why? Use specific reasons and details to support your choice.
7. What discovery in the last 100 years has been most beneficial for people in your country?
Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice.
8. Many students have to live with roommates while going to school or university. What are
some of the important qualities of a good roommate? Use specific reasons and examples to
explain why these qualities are important.
9. People have different ways of escaping the stress and difficulties of modern life. Some read;
some exercise; others work in their gardens. What do you think are the best ways of reducing
stress? Use specific details and examples in your answer.
10. People attend college or university for many different reasons (for example, new
experiences, career preparation, increased knowledge). Why do you think people attend
college or university? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
11. Nowadays, food has become easier to prepare. Has this change improved the way people
live? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

12. A company has announced that it wishes to build a large factory near your community.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this new influence on your community. Do you
support or oppose the factory? Explain your position.
13. It has recently been announced that a new restaurant may be built in your neighborhood.
Do you support or oppose this plan? Why? Use specific reasons and details to support your
answer.
14. It has recently been announced that a new movie theater may be built in your
neighborhood. Do you support or oppose this plan? Why? Use specific reasons and details to
support your answer.
15. It has recently been announced that a new high school may be built in your community.
Do you support or oppose this plan? Why? Use specific reasons and details in your answer.
16. What is a very important skill a person should learn in order to be successful in the world
today? Choose one skill and use specific reasons and examples to support your choice.
17. It has recently been announced that a large shopping center may be built in your
neighborhood. Do you support or oppose this plan? Why? Use specific reasons and details to
support your answer.
18. Why do you think some people are attracted to dangerous sports or other dangerous
activities? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
19. How do movies or television influence peoples behavior? Use reasons and specific
examples to support your answer.
20. Many people visit museums when they travel to new places. Why do you think people visit
museums? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
21. Should governments spend more money on improving roads and highways, or should
governments spend more money on improving public transportation (buses, trains, subways)?
Why? Use specific reasons and details to develop your essay.
22. In general, people are living longer now. Discuss the causes of this phenomenon. Use
specific reasons and details to develop your essay.
23. In some countries, teenagers have jobs while they are still students. Do you think this is a
good idea? Support your opinion by using specific reasons and details.
24. A person you know is planning to move to your town or city. What do you think this
person would like and dislike about living in your town or city? Why? Use specific reasons and
details to develop your essay.
25. Neighbors are the people who live near us. In your opinion, what are the qualities of a
good neighbor? Use specific details and examples in your answer.
26. What are the important qualities of a good son or daughter? Have these qualities changed
or remained the same over time in your culture? Use specific reasons and examples to support
your answer.
27. What are some important qualities of a good supervisor (boss)? Use specific details and
examples to explain why these qualities are important.
28. We all work or will work in our jobs with many different kinds of people. In your opinion,
what are some important characteristics of a co-worker (someone you work closely with)?
Use reasons and specific examples to explain why these characteristics are important.
29. People work because they need money to live. What are some other reasons that people
work? Discuss one or more of these reasons. Use specific examples and details to support
your answer.
30. What change would make your hometown more appealing to people your age? Use
specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
31. What do you want most in a friend someone who is intelligent, or someone who has a
sense of humor, or someone who is reliable? Which one of these characteristics is most
important to you? Use reasons and specific examples to explain your choice.
32. Should a city try to preserve its old, historic buildings or destroy them and replace them
with modern buildings? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
33. Many teachers assign homework to students every day. Do you think that daily homework
is necessary for students? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.